Writings By Date| A Perfect Balinese Wedding | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
But, of course, it didn't end yet, and good thing, because we were starving! I'd hardly touched my lunch and now I was quickly getting drunk on a empty stomach. The waiters (we had two all to ourselves) quickly brought out bread while we waited for our starters. As it turns out, they were definitely worth waiting for: chicken wrapped in banana leaves (I passed), smoked salmon, cold prawns and avocado salad, and vegetarian spring rolls, all with an array of dipping sauces. YUMMY! As we chatted, we sipped our wonderful chardonnay and awaited the next course.
We cleansed our palate with some raspberry sorbet and then the real fun began. We were already starting to feel a little full, when the waiters brought the humongous tray containing our main courses: beef, calamari and chicken satay skewers (I passed again), grilled lobsters (one for each of us), whole grilled snappers (again, one each), and sweet chili prawns. All of this to go with the giant plate of mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables on our plates. More YUMMY! We all started with the lobster, which was grand, and not even overcooked like Balinese seafood usually is. Then we each dove into the platter, choosing different things. I didn't really like the snapper, but the prawns were wonderful. Keith liked the satay skewers and John and Ali liked...well, everything.
As we wound down with the main courses, we opened our last bottle of wine — a 1995 Centenary Hill Shiraz that we'd hunted all over Brisbane to find after sampling it in the Barossa Valley. As the evening breeze died down, coupled with all the exertion at the dinner table, we were actually getting pretty hot and sweaty now. My feet were even swelling under the table, so we all pushed our seats back and rearranged ourselves to relax.
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| The Grand Finale |
But dinner was not over yet. Eventually, our waiters brought out the enormous mound of dessert: a tall chocolate-covered ice cream "cone", with fresh fruit and another array of sauces (fudge, vanilla, and strawberry). The waiter lit a glass of cognac on fire and slowly poured it down the chocolate cone, causing the outer shell to melt away, exposing a pyramid of ice cream. After artfully cutting the masterpiece into four pieces, we all dug in. I can't imagine who would have thought we could still eat more, but we managed. The fudge sauce was a wonderful compliment to the very cooling ice cream.
All in all, it was a superb dinner, though even that seems like a huge understatement. And, above all, a wonderful end to a perfect day!!!!! (Keith: Well, it didn't actually end yet, but that's all we're telling YOU about....)
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